ToL. I. No. 17. 



THE AGHICULTURAL NEWS. 



265 



BEE-KEEPING. 



Uses of Honey. 



As it ai>[)cars that little use is uiaile of honey, other 

 than for actual eonsuniiition, in the "West Indies, it may be 

 ■of interest to refer to the matter here. 



Honey i)ossesses many valuable qualities and the presence 

 ■of formic acid renders it capable of being kept for years. 

 There are many economic uses of honey apart from its value 

 in embalming bodies as practised on the bodies of illustrious 

 men as far back as the time of Alexander tlie Great. 



For many years jiast honey has been used in all parts 

 of the world in the manufacture of certain drugs and syrups 

 sold by chemists ; also in the manufacture of sweetmeats, 

 cakes, etc., and has from the remotest times been considered 

 a wholesome and nourishing food. It has been repeatedly 

 shown that cakes made with honey will keep fresh for many 

 months. For medicinal jiurposes honey cannot be too 

 strongly recommended. AVhilst for children and elderly 

 people honey is unequalled. All foods must undergo a 

 process of digestion by which the foodstuffs are dissolved and 

 rendered capable of being made use of by various jiarts of 

 the body. Honey reijuires veiy little, if anj', digestion, and 

 is therefore ready for immediate assinulation or absor[)tion. 

 Honey is especially recommended in cases of dyspepsia, 

 rheumatism, asthma, hoarseness and all aifections of the 

 chest. As a gentle laxative n.) better medicine can be taken. 



To emphasise these facts the following remarks may be 

 useful .-^ 



' I consider honey, as a food, second to none, on account 

 of its great solubility in the blood, its power of providing for 

 the heating of the body, and the maintenance of life. I 

 strongly recommend it as food for children, especially for 

 those who are growing quickly, since it provides an easily 

 digested food, and changes their pale faces and languid 

 condition to rude health. It is also useful to the aged, from 

 its heat-giving jiroptrties. Do jou wish to enjoy a green 

 old age? Eat daily the most precious food of the ancients — 

 milk and honey. Break some bread in a cup, with milk and 

 pure honey. This is the most healthy, the most nourishing, 

 and the most relishing breakfast.' 



Bee-Ke3ping in Jan:aica. 



The above is the title of a .short paper in the 

 Bee-hicpcrx Record for X(jveiuber, by Mr. W. Craw- 

 shaw. It contains many interesting tiicts worth 

 recording. He says : — 



There is no doubt, that many si)0ts in this island are 

 El Dorados for the cx[ierienced bee-kee|)er, but I would 

 remind Record readers that the produce of this Colony is all 

 extracted honey, and that we think ourselves fortunate when 

 we clear 2s. a gallon. Imagine an apiary of -100 hives 

 placed on blocks near the ground, and .shaded gently and 

 intermittently by the waving plumes of the majestic cocoa- 

 nut palm, surrounded by a vast extent of cultivated land, 

 growing bananas, cocoa-nut and logwood, with occasional 



tamarind and orange sprinkled between. Bananas keep the 

 bees at it practically all the year round with pollen, liut 

 vmfortunately, although they produce abundance of nectar, 

 they [)ossess a long nectary which is a trial of Taijtalus to 

 the eager ApU melificn. The cocoa-nut gives pollen and a 

 tine honey all the j'ear round in small (juantities. 



But the logwood ! For three months in the year the 

 bees — i>rovided they are in i>roi>er working order — stream 

 in in clouds almost darkening the air, laden with the finest 

 amber-coloured honey. Last jear a hive gave me -'57 J 

 gallons of i)ure logwood honey, and the same (jueen was 

 presented to me by a gentleman who stated that she had 

 given him close on two barrels of honey, or -50 gallons, 

 the year previous. 



I mentioned just now that the blossom of the banana 

 has a deep ovary. A great deal has been written lately in 

 America about breeding long-tongued (pieens, so as to reach 

 the nectar in red clover. With careful work I believe the 

 change might be effected ; but would it not be infinitely 

 easier, and answer the same end, to shorten the nectary of 

 the clover blossom ? I understand that practically anything 

 can l)e done in the way of changing the form of flowers by 

 careful selection and cross-fertilization, and surely a red 

 clover might be produced which would make itself a little 

 more socialde to the bees. 



If any bee-keepers .should think of coming to .Jamaica to 

 carry on their business, let me give them the following useful 

 hints : — 



(1) There is plenty of room. (2) They will require 

 £■300 capital to establish an apiary of 300 hives with good 

 materials. (3) They must take time and look round 

 carefully before selecting a locality. 



On the other hand, an apiary intelligently worked 

 should bring in £\ per colony iier year. I have already 

 averaged 8.1 gallons for an apiary of ninety hives, and this in 

 a locality that I consider far from the best. Any one 

 therefore who is prepared to put up with a change of 

 surroundings and the curtailment of a few comforts, may 

 derive a very fair income from an ajiiary in .Jamaica. 



VELVET SEEDS. 



(Quiina jama iceuNln). 



One of the most beautiful and interesting seeds of 

 Jamaica is that known as velvet seed, found in the 

 mountains of St. Ann's. This tree, or rather shrub, 

 belongs to the natural order Gattlferae, and is con- 

 sequently allied to the hog-gum and the Santa Maria, 

 as also to the celebrated mangosteen of the East Indies. 



It is to be remarked that in the case of the velvefc 

 seed, the edible pulp usually attached to this portion of 

 the fruit (and which in the mangosteen gives to it its 

 great value) is converted into a soft, velvety tomentum 

 of rich chestnut colour, but so bright and silky as to 

 renik'r the seeds objects of great benuty. 



It is to be regretted that these seeds are so rare 

 and difficult to procure in large quantities, as otherwise 

 they would undoubtedly form an important article of 

 commerce. It may be added that the velvet seed tree 

 is to bo distingui.shed from a plant common in the 

 plains and used for ornamental purpo.ses, known as 

 velvet leaf (.S'«?(i cordifului), as also from pareira-brava, 

 sometimes known as velvet leaf (Clssampelos 

 Farcla), a medicinal plant of some value. 



